1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a foldable footstool, and, more specifically, to a plastic or laminated paperboard, or corrugated plastic or paperboard footstool to help alleviate the discomfort associated with long sitting hours, which footstool is preferably foldably constructed from a flat, cut blank to form a portable footstool having a lightweight construction. The present invention is convenient to carry and store, and eliminates the need for glue or bulky fasteners for its assembly and disassembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Folded paperboard and corrugated paperboard containers have been developed for a variety of uses. For example, disposable concession trays, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,173 to Forbes, Jr., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,937 to Maio, et al., have been found to provide inexpensive and disposable carriers for transporting food and drink. These folded paperboard carriers are typically fabricated from a die-cut paperboard blank, which can be stored in a flat configuration, in order to minimize space requirements during shipping and prior to their use by the consumer. The paperboard blanks are typically configured in a manner which permits quick and easy assembly into their erected configurations when placed into use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,302 to Manizza shows a folded panel baking tray wherein the tray's corners comprise an open slot between upright side walls, resulting from the tray's assembly from a blank having a generally rectangular corner cutout. It has been recognized that containers such as that disclosed by the Manizza reference suffer the disadvantage that gluing of certain panels is necessary to assemble the container. Such gluing results in additional time and expense to assemble the container from the blank, and are avoided by the present invention. Further, such gluing limits disassembly, an important feature of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,257 to Wood shows a paperboard tray having folded corners requiring no cut lines or openings. However, in order to retain this tray in its assembled configuration, it is necessary to adhesively secure the corner assemblies in their upright configuration. The necessity of gluing disadvantageously requires additional time and expense in the assembly of this tray. Also, because the corner assemblies must be glued to retain the tray in its upright configuration, the tray cannot readily be knocked down into a generally flat configuration for more easy access to the contents of the tray, without substantially damaging the tray. Thus, the tray disclosed by this reference is not suitable for applications in which it is desired to periodically disassemble and reassemble the tray. Moreover, the corner assemblies of this variety of tray are typically glued in the assembled configuration at their point of manufacture. Therefore, the blanks cannot be shipped to their point of use in a flat, unfolded configuration.
Portable footstools also are known to exist. U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,891 to Coleman discloses a footstool structure for use by guitar players to elevate a foot and leg to provide a rest position for a guitar while playing the instrument. It is designed such that it can be carried and stored in a traditional guitar carrying case designed for primarily carrying a guitar. The footstool structure provides vertical height adjustment and comprises a foot support member, a first leg structure attached to said foot support member, and a second leg structure wherein an elevational adjustment mechanical arrangement is incorporated. Yet, the Coleman device is not lightweight or prepared from a plastic, corrugated plastic, paperboard or corrugated paperboard material, nor can it collapse into a lightweight, portable flat structure for ease of carrying.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,144 to Lewis discloses a portable folding footstool for supporting the legs of an individual relative to a ground surface. The footstool has a support member receiving the individual's legs thereon, and a folding leg assembly for positioning the support member above the ground surface which can be folded flatly against the support member for storage and transportation purposes. The Lewis device comprises a pair of substantially rectangular leg members which are pivotally coupled to opposed longitudinal ends of the support means incorporating an elongated traverse aperture in the leg members which permits the passage of a pivot pin. Lewis similarly cannot be comprised of a substantially flat paperboard lightweight structure, and further has several movable parts which the present invention overcomes by replacing with, in the preferred embodiment, a single foldable paperboard blank.
Therefore, it can be seen that a need exists for a foldable plastic or paperboard, or corrugated plastic or paperboard, footstool, and which can be easily erected by folding and be disassembled in the same manner. It is to the provision of such a footstool, and a blank for foldably constructing such a footstool, that the present invention is primarily directed.